Rs 2.1 cr earmarked for research
Govind Sharma
JAMMU, Jan 9: To enhance farmers’ income and generate employment for the rural folk of Jammu and Kashmir, Agriculture Production Department (APD) is implementing a full-fledged project on “Promotion of Round the Year Mushroom Cultivation” under which around Rs 42 cr will be spend over the next three years to boost production, productivity as well as export of mushrooms from the Union Territory.
Official sources told Excelsior that 26 pasteurized compost making units,10 spawn production labs and 72 controlled conditioned cropping rooms (2000 bags capacity), will be established under the Project in a span of three years. For the promotion of mushroom cultivation in non-traditional areas, they said, around subsidized 1.5 lakh pasteurized compost bags will be distributed among mushroom growers. Women empowerment through establishment of 300 women Self Help Groups (WSHGs) will also be undertaken, they added.
“The Project also focuses on value addition of the perishable commodity through creation of four canning units and distribution of 60 solar dryers among mushroom growers. In addition to this, an amount of Rs 2.1 crore has been earmarked for research and development. Under this, emphasis will be laid on promotion of medicinal mushrooms and introduction of new strains of mushrooms with specific emphasis on standardization of locally available substrates and documentation of conditions for their optimal growth,” sources revealed.
“Promotion of Round the Year Mushroom Cultivation” is one among the 29 projects, which were approved by the J&K administration after being recommended by the UT Level Apex Committee for holistic development of Agriculture and Allied Sectors in J&K. The prestigious committee is headed by Dr Mangala Rai, former DG ICAR and has other luminaries in the field of Agriculture, Planning, Statistics and Administration like Ashok Dalwai (CEO NRAA), Dr PK Joshi (Secretary NAAS), Dr Prabhat Kumar (Horticulture Commissioner, MOA & FW), Dr HS Gupta (former Director IARI), Atal Dulloo, Financial Commissioner (Additional Chief Secretary) APD apart from the Vice Chancellors of the twin Agriculture Universities of the UT.
Sources said mushroom cultivation is one important tool in not only enhancing agricultural income of the farming community but also securing it against changes in climate and soil resources. Keeping this in mind, Government is implementing “Promotion of Round the Year Mushroom Cultivation” project, which will increase the production of mushrooms by 3.5 times and employment generation by 3 times. As many as 768 new enterprises are also being created in the process to ensure sustainability of the interventions, they added.
“Mushroom farming generates revenue and helps to reduce poverty. The production of mushrooms creates a significant amount of direct and indirect employment opportunities in the fields of cultivation and marketing, as well as providing opportunities for processing businesses and labor-intensive management. Mushroom farming requires little capital, little technical expertise, and it is even possible to grow mushrooms indoors on a small scale and easily earn a high return on investment.” said Atal Dulloo.
He further said that women can grow mushrooms in their homes with little investment. As a result, mushroom farming not only gives rural women more power but also fights poverty at its source.
Director Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Jammu KK Sharma, who is implementing this project in collaboration with SKUAST, said, “Mushroom is an important cottage industry in rural areas. It leads to economic betterment of small and marginal farmers, landless laborers and women. Being a cash crop it is a good means of generating employment opportunities for youth of the UT. Lack of availability of pasteurized compost and unorganized market were the major constraints in mushroom production and this project is going to address them in a significant way.”
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